The invention relates to training devices which simulate making emergency entrances through locked or jammed doors. More particularly, the invention relates to a device which trains a person in the proper technique for gaining emergency access through a locked or jammed door.
There are occasions when various emergency personnel must gain access through a locked or jammed door in order to provide emergency services, such as fire fighting, providing emergency medical services, or in criminal apprehension or investigation. It is important that the emergency personnel receive training in methods of gaining access through locked or jammed doors so that in actual emergencies, such access may be gained as quickly and safely as possible. In the case of firefighters, it is know to pry open a locked door with a crowbar-like tool known as a “Haligan tool”. However, given the dire consequences which may result if the only training an emergency response worker receives in opening locked doors is on-the-job training in actual emergency situations, it is best for emergency response workers to have repeated training exercises, where the consequences of failure or undue delay in opening the door are limited.
The difficulty presented by training with actual doors is that the technique involves wedging the Haligan tool into a gap between the door and the support structure. Once sufficient space begins to appear between the door and the jamb, the pry end of the hook can be inserted to maintain the purchase point or to force open the door. However, this technique frequently results in the destruction of the door and the support structure, making such training impractical and expensive.
As a result of the expense and impracticality of training with actual doors and adjoining structures, simulated doors and support structures have been developed which may be reused and allow the repeated practice for gaining emergency access through a locked or jammed door. For example, such simulators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,493 (Bishop), U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,988 (Phillips et al) and within U.S. Patent Application Publications Nos. 2005/0050816 (Manning et al), 2008/0014564 (Allen), and 2010/0186324 (Staub). However, the known emergency door training simulators have one or more disadvantages, including being too complicated and expensive, failing to provide realistic training, or not providing reliable repetitive service. For example, many of the prior art devices do not utilize full size doors or allow the insertion of a Haligan tool at any vertical location in the gap between the door and the latch-side door jamb. In addition, the known training doors may not be easily transportable, be sufficiently stable to allow for aggressive training exercises, or the prior art devices utilize complicated mechanisms in order to provide for the repeated utilization of the device. Thus, a need exists for a training device for gaining emergency access through a locked or jammed door which is inexpensive, relatively simple to use, free-standing and stable, and which provides reliable repetitive training opportunities.